


dancing on cold feet

by kbaycolt



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Allison-centric, Angst, F/M, Manipulation, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-05 04:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18358664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbaycolt/pseuds/kbaycolt
Summary: A linear recounting of all the times Allison Hargreeves manipulated the people she loved—and regretted it.





	dancing on cold feet

Allison doesn't remember the very first time she used her powers. Only the first time she hurt someone with them.

They were young. So, so young. Little four-year-old Allison gripped her mother's hand as she was guided into a dimly lit elevator, filled with clanking and groaning noises. Allison swallowed hard.

Her father stood silent, as did Pogo. They seemed upset. She didn't know why at the time.

The elevator rumbled to a halt. Mom smiled brightly and, lifting a plate of food with one hand, she beckoned for Allison to follow them. The group walked through a damp, wet sewage drain. Allison wrinkled her nose at the murky water sloshing around her ankles.

At the very end of the pipe was a large, steel door, with a single thick window in the center. Through it, Allison could see her sister, Vanya, curled up on the bed. They'd been told Vanya was sick, and she had to be quarantined. Allison felt bad for her.

The door swung open with a massive creak. Mom stepped inside.

"Who's hungry?" she called out, smiling widely. Vanya slowly sat up, blinking blearily at them. "I brought your favorite. Grilled cheese."

Vanya took a tentative bite, her eyes never leaving Allison. When she was finished, Mom put the sandwich back on the plate. Then, she unscrewed a medicine container.

"Now, you have to take your medicine like a good girl. It'll help calm your nerves."

Allison wondered why she was here if Vanya was just sick.

Accepting the glass of water, Vanya obediently swallowed the little white pills. Pogo bowed his head.

"It's time, Number Three," Dad said. His tone left no room for argument.

Allison walked over to Vanya. Her sister gazed up at her, those big brown eyes glazed over and slightly crossed. Vanya tilted her head a bit in confusion.

"Do it," Dad urged. Allison sucked in a deep breath, then turned back to Vanya.

" **I heard a rumor...** " Allison said softly, her powerful words reverberating around the room despite her little voice. "... **you think you're just ordinary.** "

Instantly, a milky film spread over Vanya's eyes, Allison's rumor sinking in and twisting the very core of her being.

And the deed was done.

* * *

They were eight. Only four years later.

April Fool's Day. Allison had been contemplating the best prank to play on her family. The first of April was usually filled with harsh scolding and shrieking laughter, but this year, it'd been surprisingly quiet. Everyone was on edge, waiting for Klaus or Diego to maybe band together and pull something big.

Allison had a few close calls herself. When she woke up that morning, she found her hair dryer absolutely filled with flour. Thankfully, she hadn't turned it on, and Vanya instead received a faceful of white dust.

The saran wrap across the doorframe almost got her after lunch, but she managed to duck at the last second. Ben suffered that particular prank.

Diego tried to give her a doughnut filled with mayonnaise once. She frowned and recommended he try that on Number Five for a more violent reaction.

(The one and only time they'd ever attempted to prank Five, it ended with Klaus clutching his bleeding face while Diego sprinted through the house and screamed bloody murder.)

Now, it was late in the afternoon, and Allison had successfully dodged most if not all of the pranks today. She sat in her room, combing through magazines with her own face on the front and scanning the headlines. She turned the page.

Her door creaked open. She was going to finish reading the page and then address the door, but she never got the chance.

A can of air freshener rolled to a stop at her feet.

The door slammed shut.

Billowing, pungent spray hissed from the nozzle, filling her room with a noxious odor that made her cough and her eyes water. She staggered for the door and yanked on the handle.

"Klaus," she shouted hoarsely, tugging uselessly at the knob.

The smell was suffocating in its intensity. She covered her mouth and tried in vain to block out the choking perfume.

"Hey!" she shrieked, panic clawing at her chest. She was going to suffocate in here. "Wait! Klaus! _LET ME OUT!"_

The door slipped out from under her fingers and she went tumbling forward into Luther's arms, coughing and heaving ragged gasps of fresh air. At the end of the hallway, Klaus snickered and slipped out of sight.

"Woah, hey, are you okay?" Luther asked, steadying her. She shoved him away and swallowed hard, glaring daggers at the place Klaus had vanished too.

She'd get him.

She'd make him feel horrible, just like her.

A few hours later, she found Klaus easily, curled up on the couch and chatting amiably to himself.

"Oh, hey sis," Klaus greeted when he saw her. "What's up? Is it about the prank earlier, 'cause—"

" **I hear a rumor** ," Allison interrupted, sneering down at him, " **that the ghosts absolutely terrify you.** "

Klaus choked on his words. His eyes widened, glazing over briefly, before flicking away from her face to land on something invisible. His hands flew up to clap over his ears as he let out a moan of horror, scrambling to escape something seen only by him.

"Please," he whimpered. "Please, don't—"

He suddenly shrieked in terror and buried his face in his hands, a broken sob escaping him. His words slipped into a jumbled mess of begging and crying.

Allison knew she should be concerned and worried.

She felt only sick satisfaction.

* * *

Eleven years old.

Her father's attention was shifting to Klaus' and Number Five's powers, leaving the first three feeling hollow without the constant focus on them. Allison, in particular, was taking it hard.

No matter what she did, it was impossible to get noticed anymore. Vanya had started keeping to her own devices more, and Ben was always quiet. Klaus was annoying, Five was too self-righteous and obsessed with time travel to hang out with her, Diego didn't play with the girls, and so that left one option.

The right phrasing was essential, but this never occurred to her as she knocked on Luther's door, tingling words poised on the edge of her tongue.

"Come in," Luther called.

Allison stepped inside and closed the door. Luther was leaning back on his bed, reading a book. He sat up when she walked in.

"Hey, Allison," he said. "What's up?"

"Not much," she lied. "Um, are you doing anything later? I was thinking about maybe going through some new training routines."

"Oh, sorry, but I actually promised Ben I would help him with something later." Luther pressed his lips together, looking guilty. "Maybe another time, though."

Then he turned back to his book. Like she wasn't worth his attention for one moment longer.

Anger swelled up inside her.

Allison clenched her fists, narrowed her eyes, and spat out the words that would change their lives forever.

" **I heard a rumor that you love me.** "

In hindsight, she meant it platonically. She meant it so he might actually want to spend time with her and maybe even express his familial love for her in the absence of their father's.

But these powers didn't acknowledge intent.

* * *

Years and years later, she was in her twenties. Happily married to a man she loved, with a beautiful baby girl whose very existence brightened Allison's life.

Except Claire was so difficult. She was only three, but she had the tendency to scream and pound her little fists if she didn't get what she want, and no matter how much Allison pleaded with her, Claire wouldn't stop.

So in the heat of the moment, Allison opened her mouth and cried, " **I heard a rumor that you stopped crying!** "

Claire went silent. Her tears dried, not of her own accord. She sniffled once.

 _One time,_  Allison told herself. _One time, and I'll never do it again._

This proved to be a lie.

Claire was seven now. She knew how to control herself for the most part, so Allison hadn't felt the need to use her powers recently, but one night, she'd just finished a story about a bank heist when Claire begged her for another story.

"One more story, Mommy. I wanna hear the one about the Eiffel Tower."

"No, Claire. It's past your bedtime." Allison rolled off the bed and got to her feet.

"Mommy, please, just one more."

"I will read you one tomorrow."

"But I'm not tired!" Claire whined.

"Claire."

"But I want one!"

"Claire," Allison warned.

"Mom, come on. I want a story!"

Allison leaned down. " **I heard a rumor that you're really tired and you want to go to sleep.** "

Claire's eyes glazed over. She yawned. "I'm so tired, Mommy."

"I know, sweetie." Allison pulled the blanket over her as Claire fell asleep.

In the doorway, Patrick pressed his lips together, forehead creasing. He turned and stormed off.

"Patrick, I can explain," Allison tried. "Patrick!"

Several weeks later, she said to a courtroom of people, " **I heard a rumor that Patrick got custody.** "

* * *

It was her fault. It was all her fault.

Allison listened to Vanya denounce her and hurl those accusing words, and she believed every barbed string of insults. It was all true. Allison had ruined her life. Allison made her ordinary. Allison made her an outcast.

True.

All true.

But Vanya's eyes were glimmering with something other than betrayal, something cold and dangerous that terrified Allison. The room rattled with a strange, billowing wind, the chandelier swinging and the glassware clinking on the table. Vanya's hair whipped around her face.

"Are you... Are you okay?" Allison asked desperately, not daring to take another step closer to her sister.

"I SAID GO!" Vanya screamed, her hands trembling violently at her sides, grief and cruelty and tears sparkling in her eyes.

The chandelier lights exploded, causing Allison to cry out in fear. She swallowed thickly and fought back her own tears, knowing she had to stop this before someone got hurt.

But someone was already hurt, right?

"Please don't make me do this," Allison pleaded.

Vanya narrowed her eyes.

Allison sucked in a shuddering breath, opened her mouth, and forced out the words, " **I heard a rumor—"**

Something white flashed through the air. Allison staggered back a step. Pain exploded from her throat as warm blood gushed from the wound, her vision spotted with black as she crumpled to the ground. She choked and spluttered, dimly aware of Vanya's hands on her arms and someone screaming, someone crying out for help.

Her vision darkened.

Allison desperately attempted to inhale, her throat burning and pouring blood, her fingers twitching as the lack of oxygen affected her brain. She felt her head slump against the floor.

Vanya was still sobbing.

Somewhere, Allison entertained the faint thought that she deserved this. After all the pain she'd caused, perhaps it was fitting for her to die with the words 'I heard a rumor' on her tongue.

Everything went black.

 _Down and out, and out of luck_  
_We're spinning, but the needle's stuck_  
_Let's go have some fun before_  
_They go and put us in the ground._

Sinners - Barns Courtney


End file.
